CIF/FOB Gulf Grain-Soy barge bids firm, corn eases, as icy flows slow river movement

CHICAGO, Jan 30 (Reuters) - Basis bids for corn shipped by barge to U.S. Gulf Coast export terminals eased and soybean bids firmed on Friday, as barge operators continued to wrestle with ice-related navigation woes along the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers, traders said.

• Barge freight rates remained high as snow and ice buildup on the interior rivers - particularly Canton, Illinois, and areas to the north - and lower water levels have slowed barge navigation and limited how heavily the barges can be loaded, dealers said. BG/US

• Spot basis bids for corn and soybeans in the cash market were flat in the U.S. Midwest on Friday as snowfall slowed travel and trade, which U.S. corn and soybean futures ticked lower on a rising U.S. dollar.

• For the week ending January 24, 409 grain barges moved downriver, 95 more than the previous week, and 791 grain barges unloaded in the New Orleans region, 20% fewer than a week earlier, according to data from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Marketing Service.

• For the week ending January 24, barged grain movements were up 27% more than the previous week and 13% less than the same week a year ago, according to government data.

• Gulf CIF basis bids for soybean barges loaded in January were up 3 cents at 115 cents over Chicago Board of Trade March soybean SH26 futures. February barge basis bids were up 2 cents at 110 cents over March futures.

• FOB Gulf soybean offers for vessels loaded in February were steady at about 122 cents over March futures, while offers for March shipments were steady at about 130 cents over futures.

• CIF Gulf January corn barges basis bids were 2 cents lower at 115 cents over CBOT March CH26 corn futures, while February barges were 2 cents lower at 108 cents over March futures.

• FOB export premiums for February corn shipments were steady at 117 cents over March futures, while March offers were steady at about 120 cents over futures.

For displays of CIF basis, click on the codes in brackets:

U.S. CIF Gulf soybeans GRYM

U.S. CIF Gulf corn GRYN

U.S. CIF Gulf SRW wheat GRYO

U.S. CIF Gulf HRW wheat GRYP

For displays of FOB basis, please click on the following codes in brackets:

U.S. FOB Gulf corn GRZC

U.S. FOB Gulf soybeans GRZD

U.S. FOB Gulf SRW wheat GRZE

U.S. FOB Gulf HRW wheat GRZF LINKS

Corn prices page: cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?pageid=corn-cash-market

Wheat prices page: cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?pageid=wheat-cash-market

U.S. barge freight BG/US

U.S. export sales estimates USDA/EST

U.S. grain export summary GRA/U

Brazil soybean export prices SYBS

Brazil corn export prices SYBX

Argentina grain prices GRA/ARG

Russia grain prices GRA/RU